Published on Oct 10, 1997
These days it’s a sin to like Luciano Pavarotti and Alanis
Morissette at the same time. But I’m not a hypocrite. I just have a
very simple standard: any music that makes me feel something, I’ll
like it. Shit, I get so
tired of sitting in front of a desk all day trying to act
allyes-that’s-my-
geh-shibal-mock-aptitude-score. Somedays I just throwmy
books in the air and start doing Madonna’s “Vogue” in school
uniform (I have sympathetic friends).
So I have other self-righteous music critics to blame for
keeping me from buying
Medusa years ago when I first heard “No More I Love You’s”;
the largely negative reviews made me reluctant. Boys and girls, let
me be the one to tell you: sometimes, even the absolute best,
open-minded, and overall reader-friendly of critics are hard of
hearing (our Mariah Carey
MTV Unplugged review). In the end, Lennox performing “Train
in Vain” at the whenever-Grammy Awards made me dish out the measly
12,500 won and I’ve never regretted it since.
Everyone has a list of songs that they feel they can sing. Songs
that you “gravitate” to. Annie Lennox goes a marathon of steps
further to release an album full of non-Lennox compositions … and
it’s
cohesive. The lonlier side of love, however obliquely
referred to in certain tracks, is what keeps the album
together.
“Train in Vain” was performed in a different version at the
aforementioned whenever-Grammys so I was a little disappointed in
the less-poppy arrangement. But, simple-standardish as I am, I got
to like this version better. The trademark Lennox-ironism vocals
and charismatic beat brings out the essence of these
mini-productions into a more intimate studio; very un-nineties.
Although I
was hoping they’d repeat the chorus a couple of hundred
times at the end, just like they used to do it way back when.
Most of the critics disliked the album because of its
arrangements. They weren’t better than the original, or of some
other cover, or some other interpretation I’ll probably go to the
grave without hearing (and not feel too sorry about afterward). But
what they didn’t see is the need for atmosphere. “No More I Love
You’s” doesn’t really fit into the rest of the album; compared to
the other songs, her voice is a mile away from the microphone. “A
Whiter Shade of Pale” triggers a series of slow-mo frames, and
what’s in those frames is for the listener to decide. Same with
“Something So Right”. Don’t wonder about what the artist is singing
about. Be selfish; make your own interpretations.
Some songs are just plain fun. The way she sings “accidents
speak louder than words” in “Thin Line Between Love And Hate” makes
me smile in mutual agreement. It’s infectuous;
everyone in the song is smiling in the same coy fashion. The
bass player, the background vocals, the drum machine. “Take Me to
the River” I haven’t quite figured out why I like; maybe because it
works so well with the rest of the album (and nowhere else it
would). “I Can’t Get Next To You”. Hey, who can’t relate to the
Queen of Gloom (or doom? English has too many rhymes).
“Downtown Lights” grabbed me from the beginning, making me
want to feel something with it. It would’ve been even better
with better background production; and stunning in concert. A lot
like “Why” (on
Diva), “Waiting in Vain” is a solid Annie Lennox song;
highland edge, what a great way to call it.
My advice for listeners is to get personal. This album has a
good chunk of soul invested in it; if you forget the fact that
you’re All That for a few moments, you’ll be able to relate to at
least a couple of tracks. This is pop music in one of its most
elusive guises. Elusive, but ultimately rewarding. Almost better
than the “Vogue”.